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Reply to "Praying for Rain"

I didn't adequately answer the post/Question though.  It was directed to O NO but why the emphasis was upon okuok and myself is curious since I only responded to DA'a post about Ham Radio and HAM's in general and not specifically about myself or anyone locally.   I will answer the question as it should be answered.

Although you attempted to restrict the question specifically to okuok and myself any true HAM will answer in the same way.  We do nothing in and of ourselves but rather as a collective cohesive group, working together.  Alone you fail and when there is such a need as on April 27th there is no place for selfishness or hot dogging.  If you were a part of the operations and ongoing help there you saw many of us in the background, where we should be.

So what did the local HAMs do.    As a group we provided inter-department and served agency to served agency Communications for distribution and coordination of services and assets when it was needed to communicate between agencies that did not have a common frequency to communicate on.  They provided a way that family and loved ones to find out the health & welfare status of their friends, family, etc that were in the devastated area when services were so overloaded that there existed no cell phones or other phone service that would enable people to get word out that they were alright.  Communicated with and checked on availability of resources at various aid stations and hospitals and treatment centers as to the availability of space and services and status of supplies as well as County to County transfer of information between EMA Offices and Coordination centers.  Assisted in continual and ongoing reporting of damage assessment and search and retrieval for injured and then location of deceased along with firemen, FEMA, Red Cross, Church organizations and other agencies that were being directed by the local Emergency Coordinator and EMA Director.  Continued to pass health and welfare traffic on Statewide and nationwide national traffic systems on regular scheduled nets.  Transported and coordinated as well as providing generators and setting up temporary stations.   There is still much that I have missed and haven't reported but since you ask it deserved an answer about some of the activities that our local Hams provided the people in the counties south of us.   Not to mention that some of these activities were carried out from stations that were set up on the fly and remotely with antennas constructed by wire from various amateur operators and in all cases with equipment that was wholly purchased at the sole expense of each individual Amateur with the hope that one day they could actually volunteer to provide their equipment and resources, free of charge, to assist and help others in their time of need.  Each Amateur studied, learned, and developed a working knowledge of Electronics, Radio Operation, Rules and Regulations, Propagation and Antenna theory and took a battery of FCC Test in order to have the privilege to be able to provide a service that may not have been available otherwise.

 

The above not only happened here but Cullman, Huntsville, Birmingham, and Tuscaloosa as well as other areas of the state and touching areas and people from all over the country that were not able to contact their friends and loved ones here in Alabama.   

 

Okuok and myself we do nothing in and of ourselves but work with everyone else and as a whole help accomplish everything above and more.  As for what you did specifically that's admirable but if you want recognition for your specific accomplishments then go ahead and list them for all to see but I'm happy being a part of a group that functions as one together accomplish far more than any one of us individually.    

 

I fully believe that is what O No was responding with and saying to DA.  She, like I, read his post for what it was and responded as such.  She did not deserve being picked on for it either for doing so.  While I still didn't adequately address what various amateurs contributed and did I hope I was able to shed a little light on some of what services my fellow Amateurs helped provide.  Our rewards are not in individual accomplishments or recognition but rather the faces of those who lost everything but were so worried about their relatives thinking they might be dead and finding out they weren't.  Hearing the relief in the voices of people on the other end of the phone line when you deliver a message that their loved one, mother, father, sister, brother, etc was not hurt.  Our reward is feeling that somehow we have justified the confidence and belief that the Government has in our hobby to permit us to maintain bands of very expensive frequencies in order to do just what was done.  


I'm proud to be a member of such a service and group of wonderful volunteers and with I could highlight several of them individually.  No HAM Radio isn't COOL, as DA alluded to, but for many of those effected by the storms and troubles to strike Alabama in April HAM Radio operators did some Cool things.


Although it has nothing to do with the Subject of this topic the least I can do is shed some light on some very talented and wonderful people (men, women, and some very talented young people) and their unselfish efforts.  


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